Arians gets chance he never thought would come

This time a year ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers pushed Bruce Arians out the door as their offensive coordinator.

What a wonderful road he’s traveled personally since then.

The Arizona Cardinals made Arians, who spent this past season as the offensive coordinator and interim head coach of the New Orleans Saints, their head coach tonight.

“I never thought it was going to come,” Arians said, according to the team’s Web site. “I appreciate it so much. I will give it every single thing I have. The passion and energy I bring to this is something I love to do.”

Arians was one of two finalists for the Chicago Bears’ job that went to Marc Trestman and when he didn’t get that Wednesday morning, he flew to Arizona where he impressed the brass enough there to land the job.

Arians did remarkable work this past season as a fill-in while Colts coach Chuck Pagano was on medical leave battling leukemia. He was 9-3 and helped guide the Colts to the postseason in a remarkable one-season turnaround from a 2-14 wreck.

Now, Arians will have to determine what he wants to do on defense. He has a relationship with Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton but indications are Horton will want out. Arians was going to take Todd Bowles with him to Chicago to be his defensive coordinator. Oh, Arians needs to set out to find himself a quarterback too.